Remember Me
by melicitysmoak
Summary: Oliver thinks this amazing woman is perfect in every way, except she doesn't really remember who she is, where she came from. He knows they're all supposed to help her get her life back, but now he doesn't think he really wants to. He's falling for her, but he knows she'll eventually have to leave their little town, and he'll be back to the pathetic life he's been living for years.
1. Chapter 1

**REMEMBER ME**

_A/N: Hi, everyone! This is what happens when I spend two days in the hospital, waiting for hours to be seen by the doctor and cueing for medical tests. I hope you like this short multi-chapter fic. It's an Olicity AU where Felicity has amnesia and Oliver suffers from PTSD, inspired by the movie "Falling for Vermont" but with its own plot and story arcs._

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**Chapter 1**

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Oliver is staring at her, and he sincerely wishes she doesn't mind or find it creepy. After all, this isn't the first time.

It's just her second week staying with his family in their home by the lake in quaint little Ivy Town, but his younger sister Thea has already called him out on the habit he's developed of gazing upon his most favorite blonde just a few days ago. Can Thea or anyone, for that matter, blame him? This amazing woman is like a bright ball of sunshine, and she's been lighting up his gloomy, broody life since the day she walked into his life.

She's perfect, he thinks, in every way. Except, she doesn't remember who she really is. She remembers hardly anything about her past and only has vague recollections and hazy images of being in Vegas, Boston, and D.C.

To be fair, he hardly knows anything about her background either. She doesn't know her name. She doesn't remember where she's from and why she was walking down the zigzag road that led to Ivy Town. On his routine patrol in the outskirts of town that morning, Sheriff Lance had found her limping on a sprained ankle on the side of the road, with a few cuts and bruises on her face and arms. Her salmon pink blouse had been torn at the seams near the shoulder. Oliver had helped his mother mend it the next day, after they'd washed away the meager amount of blood stains on it.

His father, Dr. Robert Queen, had told them that she'd been in a daze due to shock when Lance had brought her into the clinic. She needed to be sedated to allow her mind and body to rest. Yet, even after waking from a six-hour sleep, she still could not, for the life of her, remember who she was, and that had brought her to tears more than a few times that day. She had nothing on her except the clothes she wore, not even her shoes. No ID, no purse, no phone. There was no lead whatsoever for the sheriff to begin any kind of investigation on who she might be and whether or not she had family looking for her. Taking pity on the frightened, injured young woman, Dr. Queen had arranged with the sheriff to release her into his care, seeing that she would need medical attention from time to time until she regains her memory. He had brought her home from the clinic that evening, and his wife Moira had more than gladly set her up in the small, studio-type guest house near the mini dock down at the lake behind their main house.

The next morning, Oliver had discovered the stranger that his parents had taken in. He'd been busy cleaning his boat in the dock when the woman, wearing a green hoodie and sweat pants that was most likely borrowed from Thea, had called out to him from the steps between the guest house and the dock. "Hello?" she'd hollered from the distance, clearly unaware that she had been yelling at the doctor's son. "I wonder if you could tell me where I might find Dr. Queen?" she'd asked, wincing as she shifted from one foot to the other. He'd seen that she was clearly in pain, so he had carried her up to the house for his father to treat and give pain meds to.

Even then Oliver had found her intriguingly attractive, despite her disheveled bed hair and freckled face that really didn't need make-up for it to glow. But he hadn't dwelt on that thought and feeling then, especially when he learned from his parents that day that she had been in some kind of mysterious accident and that she was experiencing temporary amnesia. He did not think it was wise – and beneficial to her recovery – for her to consider being more than friends with him in such short a time.

But that was two weeks ago.

Fourteen days later, Oliver still knows nothing of her past, but he knows enough of what she's really like as a person, for him to decide that he really, really likes her – as in, the falling-head-over-heels-for-this-girl kind of "liking her." He knows that she tends to babble a lot when she seems nervous or excited. He knows that her brain-to-mouth filter occasionally breaks down whenever she's feeling shy or self-conscious, usually around him, what with a few unintentional innuendos slipping from her tongue (which, by the way, he finds adorably cute). He knows she loves mint chip ice cream and red wine, but for some reason hates kangaroos even if she hasn't actually seen one face to face. He knows that she has severe allergic reactions to nuts – something that she herself did not have any memory of. (He found that out the hard, scary way when he convinced her to try his favorite rocky road flavor last weekend when they strolled together down Main Street.) Since then, Oliver has developed an over-protectiveness of her that she surprisingly seems to appreciate, if her blushing smiles are any indication.

He also knows she's unbelievably smart and seems to have a way with technology. She had overheard his father's conversation with an exasperated receptionist about the database problems in his clinic the day she came in for a follow-up check-up. She had very nicely volunteered to help, and in just one afternoon, she had overhauled the entire system. His father – and he, of course – had been quite impressed. The next day, townsfolk had gotten wind of her knack with computers and programming, and since then, she'd been doing people favors right and left, so much so that he has started to tease her about setting up her own office and computer shop in one of the vacant business spaces in town. "You should think about it, you know," Oliver had said. "No one in Ivy Town can do what you can do. The next option for a computer expert is in another town twenty miles from here." She had only smiled at his suggestion, confused as to whether he was kidding or serious about it.

Truth be known, Oliver isn't really just teasing. Deep inside, he wishes that she would somehow take the hint that he wanted her to stay in Ivy Town. In his life. He knows that she's eventually going to regain her memory, and when she does, she's going to leave. She'll go back to her real life, leaving a gaping hole of loneliness and emptiness in his heart when she does. It's really quite incredulous how quickly he has developed feelings for her in just a couple of weeks, how fourteen days in her company can matter so much to someone like him.

Especially someone like him.

Oliver finds it truly ironic that he – a former soldier with dark, painful, and regretful memories from the past seven years, which he's trying so hard to forget and move on from – is falling in love with a woman who has lost most of her memories of the past, which she is trying so hard to regain. Sometimes when he thinks about it, he finds himself huffing out a laugh and shaking his head in disbelief. He knows he's precariously treading on a thin line by allowing himself to develop feelings for someone who's only going to leave soon. It's only going to add to his collection of sad stories. But there's just something about this girl that draws him in. She's therapy to his troubled mind, a balm to his wounded heart. He doesn't know it, but he is healing faster and better in just a few days compared to the past two years of erratic appointments with his therapist in the Star City.

And it's all because of her. Felicity.

That's what he and his family have called her since the day Thea had compared her to a character in the book she was reading for school. Thea had been delighted to have her in their home, and the two of them had clicked from the beginning. On the third night that she had been in the Queens' home, she had agreed to their proposition that she be called Felicity. She hadn't been completely happy about it, but she hadn't refused the name either. Everyone in town had been introduced to her using that name, and each and every time, people had said that her name suited her well. Days passed, and the endearing name had grown on her.

If only she could remember her real name, she'd be happier and relieved. As far as Oliver is concerned, however, whatever her real name is, she'd always be his Felicity. Sheer happiness. He knows that whatever happens, when the time comes for her to go, he'll never ever forget her. He wonders if she'll remember him.

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_A/N: I'd really like to know if anyone likes this story at all and if it's worth continuing. Let me know if it was a good decision to turn boredom into an Olicity story that can make us smile (considering the series finale is coming soon)._


	2. Chapter 2

**REMEMBER ME**

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_A/N: This middle chapter is longer than the first and final chapters because it bears the weight of the conflicts in the story. What really happened to Felicity is revealed, for the most part, and we also find out about Oliver's history._

_Summary: The present lets Oliver and Felicity bond more deeply, but the past snaps them back to the reality they must face._

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**Chapter 2**

Another week has passed, and still Felicity hasn't recovered significant memories from her lost past. She remembers glimpses of fond memories, like the one where she is a little girl building a computer from spare parts with the help of a grown man whom she claims to feel mixed emotions for, and she had only been frustrated the day she had that fleeting memory because she could not remember who he was. Another memory was of a cramped supply closet where a dark-haired guy was kissing a Goth girl with black hair and purple streaks, but Felicity could not make out what those two had to do with her. As much as it pained Oliver to see her distraught each time she is reminded that she still does not know her true identity, he has taken comfort in that he is given an extended time to be with her for as long as she could not remember where home is. He knows it's selfish, but he can't bring himself to imagine a future without Felicity in his life.

Felicity still does not know where her real home is, but she's still leaving. Tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Oliver does not understand why this Mr. Ray Palmer, a tech mogul who turned out to be Felicity's business associate and boyfriend (the latter, he prefers not to dwell on too much, though he really can't help it), is in such a hurry to leave.

Oliver knows this day would come. He knew it, the moment he realized that he has come to care about Felicity, and not in the platonic and just-friends kind of way. Only his parents know about this, and they had already warned him to be ready if and when this happens. Yet, he does not get why he still feels as if his heart is being ripped out of his chest as he watches the guest house from the dock. Felicity's in there packing her things with Thea's help. In the morning, Palmer and two assistants – one Curtis Holt and another named Alena Whitlock – will pick her up at 7 a.m. to take her home to Star City. It puts him on edge to even think that Felicity has a home other than Ivy Town. She fits perfectly in their simple, little town. She fits perfectly in his family. She fits perfectly in his life. Perhaps it is true what they say: all good things must come to an end. Oliver's chest constricts at the thought.

Beyond the lake, the sun begins to set behind the mountains. Everything is quiet and the waters are calm, but the silence is unsettling, not tranquil. The evening air is cool and fresh, but Oliver can't breathe. So, he sets out sailing. He just needs to get away from this, even just for a while. The cold breeze bites the skin on his face and neck. For the first time since his father taught him how to sail, he finds the sensation neither thrilling nor refreshing.

* * *

The other day, Dr. Queen had gotten a call from Sheriff Lance at the clinic, informing him that Felicity's car had been found somewhere near Bloomfield's city limits, about five miles south of Ivy Town. A couple of hikers that had followed the trail down the mountainside along the creek had stumbled upon the weeks-old wreckage and called it in. Highway patrol had immediately been dispatched to the site, and soon, federal agents were investigating the incident, looking into the possibility of linking it with missing persons since there was no body inside the wreck. Investigators speculated that the driver must have lost control of the car – the reason for which is unclear, since nothing seemed to have been wrong with the vehicle except that its front ride side was wrapped around a tree, severely damaged. They surmised that the car must have swerved off the winding road and gone down the ravine, which was hidden with thick foliage. No one would have paid attention to the skid marks on the road if they didn't come looking on purpose. The investigators thought it was by pure chance that the wreck had been discovered at all, and that no one seems to have died in the crash.

Based on the license plate and vehicle registration (which was still intact in the squished glove compartment of Felicity's car) and the ID they had found in her purse (which was found stuck in between the driver's and passenger's seats), she had been easily identified as the owner and driver. And because she had already been reported missing since the day after she disappeared from Star City, it had been easy for the federal agents assigned to the missing persons case to consider the possibility that the unidentified woman who had turned up in Ivy Town, whom Sheriff Lance had reported three weeks ago, is the same person.

As soon as Lance got the call, he and one of his deputies had gone to the site to personally see the wreck as the car was being towed back up to the road, even when the photograph of said missing woman that FBI had emailed the sheriff's office had already confirmed the match. Like everybody else in their humble town, Lance himself hadn't been able to resist the charm and charisma of the wonderful woman that they had learned to call Felicity. He just wanted to be sure. Or maybe, the sheriff – just like the Queens – was in denial too, delaying the inevitable, which was that it was time for her to go.

Ray Palmer, the person listed in her ID as her emergency contact, had been notified the very next day. The man had immediately left Star City and gone up to Ivy Town with his assistants. Meanwhile, Sheriff Lance had the unpleasant task of informing the Queen family that Palmer was on his way to pick up Felicity – rather, Megan Smoak, founder and CEO of Smoak Technologies, an up and coming tech company originally based in Las Vegas where she grew up with her mother Donna Smoak, a single mom.

As it turns out, she is a certified genius and a very much sought-after IT specialist in the country ever since her graduation from MIT at age 20, at the top of her class. Suddenly, everything about her became unbelievably clear to Oliver. Nevertheless, all the new information they're getting since the calls started coming still do not answer multiple questions. Why was she on the road to Ivy Town? Why had she not told her family and friends where she was going? It doesn't help that Felicity still does not remember what happened. Oliver worries that things aren't adding up, and the unanswered questions make him feel hesitant to commit her to the care of people she does not even remember. At this point, they are strangers, not just to them, but also to her. He wonders how long she's known Palmer and his associates. He wonders if they really know her… the real _her_… the beautiful person that his family and friends have become so fond of in the last few weeks.

Oliver also wonders if she really loves Palmer, and if he really loves her as more than just a business partner. Granted, the man claims to be her current boyfriend, but Oliver has this feeling in his gut that there is something off about this man. He felt it the very moment Palmer had knocked on their door earlier today. It's not just that the man is the most arrogant and overconfident person he's ever met. It's more that the guy – in the few hours that Oliver has observed him around Felicity – treats her like her feelings and sentiments don't matter as much as his. Palmer does not seem to see her as an equal, or value her as she deserved. Why can't Palmer see that Felicity isn't ready to just pack up and go as though everything she has experienced in Ivy Town meant nothing to her? The man practically had to bribe her to come home with him that same day with promises of a dinner date in _his_ favorite luxurious restaurant and a weekend getaway in Paris that, according to his expert opinion "will surely help jog Megan's memory and then she'll be back to her old self in no time." Oliver finds this unacceptably insensitive and selfish of the guy to pressure Felicity to leave just like that, when she clearly isn't ready to go. Then again, Oliver knows that his assessment might be tainted by a tinge of jealousy (okay, it might be significantly more than just a tinge of jealousy), but even the nonverbal cues of Palmer's fidgety assistants betray as much that something did not feel right.

Confused and upset as she was, Felicity had asked to be excused from dinner and had retreated to the guest house with tears streaming down her face. All the information that their guests from Star City were sharing was too much for her, and she wanted to be left alone to think. After dinner, she called Thea to ask for bags where she could put all of her things from the last three weeks. Thea offered to help her pack her things, a request that Felicity obliged. Oliver accompanied his sister to the guest house, but he didn't go inside. He wanted to give Felicity the space she needed. He knew this isn't easy for her. It sure isn't easy for him. So, he retreated to his boat to do some thinking of his own.

* * *

Oliver ordinarily finds peace when he sails. When he's out in the middle of the lake early in the morning or in the evening as the sun is setting, he forgets his problems and struggles or, at least, is able to set them aside for a while.

When he had found out that his best friend Tommy Merlyn was in love with his high school sweetheart Laurel Lance, when Laurel broke up with him, when his friends got married fresh out of high school and moved to Boston for Laurel to study law at Harvard, he'd gone sailing almost every day. Even when he'd gone to Camp Pendleton and trained with the Marines, he had had opportunities to go sailing in San Diego with his peers, and that had helped calm his nerves whenever he felt the need to unwind from the stress of basic training. However, it had been difficult to escape the pain and sorrow of his heartaches in Afghanistan where he'd been deployed soon after graduation. There was absolutely no chance to sail, not even to enjoy a scenic lakeside view like the one his family had in Ivy Town. The horrors of war had taken their toll on him, and after two tours of duty, his parents had convinced him to get honorably discharged and come home to help his dad run the clinic, considering he had also some special medical training in the military. The first thing he had done the day he got back was to clean his boat and sail into the sunset. Ever since he got back two years ago, he has been sailing almost every day and it had been a balm to his wounded and weary soul. It has helped him with the nightmares and sleepless nights and the many troubling effects of trauma from the missions he'd gone on.

Now, however, his heart is as unsteady as the waves, his mind tossed to and fro like the boat he's sitting in. He asks himself, "Why does she have to go?" Why now, when Felicity has already captured his heart, now that she might even feel the same way about him, too. If this is fate playing tricks on him, he does not think it's funny. Fate has already brought him enough miseries. It's a good thing he does not believe in fate anymore. He's come to believe that everything happens for a reason. Felicity has taught him that.

She told him over coffee that lazy afternoon just before Sheriff Lance's call came through, that the reason why she's able to wake up every morning and live one day at a time, with a smile on her face despite everything that's happened, is that she believes that there is a purpose for it all – for why she ended up in Ivy Town and does not remember how or why, even for the privilege of meeting the Queens and the friends she's made in the last couple of weeks. She also told him that whatever happens, whether she gets her memory back or not, she isn't ever going to forget everything that they've done for her.

She even had let it slip (bless her babbling mouth) that a part of her does not mind it at all if she never gets her memory back. "I love my life here in Ivy Town so far," she'd said, "and even though it's been only a few weeks, I've come to care about everyone I've met, especially your family. I don't understand why, but I'm loving it here as the days go by, so much so that, that part of me that doesn't mind leaving seems to be taking over that other part of me that's been grieving the loss of my memories."

Oliver's heart soared at her confession. He took it as his chance to be honest with her about his feelings for her. "Felicity," he asked bravely, "do you think… would you…" He sighed and then pressed on. "If and when you get your memories back, and you have to leave, will you remember me?"

Felicity laughed softly. "Oh, Oliver, of course I will! I'll never forget you, or your family, or Diggle and Lyla and everybody here in Ivy Town. It's not like I'm going to hit my head again and forget everything about the last three weeks," she replied. "Although, wait… That could happen, right? I don't recall your dad telling me if that's possible. Oh, no…"

"Hey, Felicity, calm down. I'm sure that won't happen," Oliver comforted her, rubbing his palm up and down her arm. Within moments, her heart stopped racing, and she slid her hand into his. "Thanks," she said to him. Their fingers intertwined as they sat there, smiling at each other, on the steps of the gazebo behind the Queens' main house.

"You know, I wasn't talking about the possibility of you losing your memory again. I wanted to know if I can still be a part of your life even after you go… _if_ you really need to go," said Oliver.

"Oh…" Felicity dropped her gaze as she pondered on his query. Biting her lower lip, she took a deep breath to help steady her beating heart. "Oliver, in the brief time that I've known you, you've been nothing but kind and caring and sweet. I am so proud of you, considering the kind of past that haunts you every now and then. You ought to be proud of yourself, too. You deserve to be happy."

She rambles on. "I keep reminding myself that nobody's perfect. Of course you're not, though now you really come so close to perfect such that any imperfection you might have is pretty negligible at this point as far as I'm concerned. I guess what I'm trying to say… is that I can see how much you've come to care about me. You make me feel special… and loved. And if you're telling me what I think you're telling me, then… yes. Yes, I would love to give you the chance to become part of my life… as more than a friend… if that's what you're asking," she replied, blushing as she finished her ironically meaningful babbling.

Overwhelmed by emotion, Oliver leaned in to kiss her. Felicity responded by closing the gap between them. Unfortunately, that was when the rain started pouring.

It was the most intimate conversation they'd had since they met and became good friends. It had given Oliver so much hope. It had led to them sharing an almost kiss, if the rain had not so rudely interrupted their moment. It would have also been the start of a serious relationship. Almost kissing clearly signaled that wanting to be more than just friends was a mutual desire. Felicity would have been his girlfriend by now, if Ray Palmer had not crashed into their new life earlier today, telling her the bitter truth that she has a boyfriend back in Star City – him.

* * *

Everybody's on the front porch of the house to say goodbye to their beloved friend. The Queen family is there. The Diggles are there too. They came early, since they have to be in their store in time for opening. Dinah, the trainer in the only gym in town, is also there with Rene, owner of one of two gasoline stations in Ivy Town. Raisa and Anatoli from the Seniors Club that Felicity had started to volunteer at, also came.

Sarah Lance, the sheriff's daughter and one of Oliver's oldest friends, was the first one that arrived to say goodbye and had already left when everyone started coming because she has a flight to catch in Star City. She was the one that had given Oliver a pep talk a few days ago, urging him to tell Felicity about his feelings for her. Sarah told him that even though he had healed somewhat from what happened with him and her sister Laurel and his best friend Tommy, it was time for him to move on, to be happy. Sarah told him that maybe he could be happy with Felicity.

"You'll call me when you're safely home?" Thea asks, teary-eyed. "Sure," Felicity answered, giving her good friend a hug.

Robert and Moira Queen bid their goodbyes next, telling Felicity to take care of herself. "Take it easy, my dear," Dr. Queen tells her. "Give your body and your brain time to heal completely. Your condition seems temporary. Your memories will come back over time." Moira adds, "It won't help if you stress yourself out. It might be good for you to take that vacation with your…" She clears her throat as soon as she realizes she's entered awkward territory. "…with Mr. Palmer… before you go back to work."

"I'll think about it," Felicity replies, "but I promise to take good care of myself."

The Queens give her one final hug, and then they both back away to give her and Oliver some space. The others follow suit, dispersing either into the house or to their cars.

"I guess this is goodbye," Oliver says. He keeps his hands in his pockets. He does not want her to see how anxious he is. Felicity has called him out more than once about how his tension manifests in his hands and fingers.

"I certainly hope not," she responds. "I still want you in my life, remember?" She smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. He can tell she's sad about leaving, but she needs to go back to her life – the real one, not the fairy tale they'd been living in Ivy Town for three weeks.

"But, Palmer?"

"Doesn't mean we can't still be friends. You do want to still be friends, don't you?"

_No. He wants them to be more._ But, "Yeah, I do," is what he says to her, and he hopes she believes the half-hearted line. He resents that friends is all they have to be now, but because he cares about her, he has to let her go and wish her all the best. Even if it breaks his heart to a million pieces.

"You'll call?" she asks him.

This time, Oliver can't bring himself to pretend that he's okay with everything that's going down, so he settles for a polite answer. "I'll try." It shatters her heart, he's sure, if the tear that escapes the corner of her eye is any indication. He knows that deep down inside, she's hurting as much as he does. He doesn't want to hurt her, but he doesn't want to lie to her either. Truth hurts.

Felicity surprises him by crashing into him with a tight embrace. "Thank you… for everything. I'll always remember… _you_," she whispers into his ear in between sobs.

"I'll miss you," he whispers back, pressing a kiss on her temple. "Likewise," she tells him.

Nothing more is said between them, which is Ray Palmer's cue to take her to his SUV. Curtis takes the wheel, and Alena sits on the passenger side. Palmer sits with Felicity in the back.

Felicity waves at Oliver as the vehicle passes in front of him. The thought of never seeing her again stabs him in the heart. He stands frozen on the same spot long after the vehicle disappears in the distance, but to him, everything's a blur.

"Are you going to be alright?" He hears his mother's voice behind him. He doesn't even notice how close Moira is until she places her hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know."

Having Felicity in his life has helped him make significant progress in overcoming his trauma in leaps and bounds. When he allowed himself to be vulnerable and opened up about his troubled history, she hadn't flinched, nor did she think of him any differently. In fact, she has helped him move on and learn to love again. She has helped harness the light that's still inside him. She _is_ his light. Now that she's gone, he fears that the nightmares will come back and the darkness will return to engulf him, more pervasively than ever before.

* * *

_A/N: I left it at that on purpose, and I'm not sorry. I am, however, going to try my very best not to leave you hanging with angst for a long time. Let me know what you think. Encouraging comments fuel writing, right?_


	3. Chapter 3

**REMEMBER ME**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

_A/N: Some of you have been waiting for this final chapter, so I'll just let you get on with it, okay? ;-)_

* * *

It has only been a week since she left, and Oliver is on the verge of slipping down the slope of despair, if he hasn't already. His days are lonely in spite of how busy it has been in his father's clinic lately, and his nights are miserable, almost always painfully disrupted by a nightmare or two. He's lost the smile that he has just so recently regained. He's starting to withdraw like he had in the first few years since he'd been back from Afghanistan. He's forgotten how to spend idle moments and leisure time without Felicity – Megan Smoak, rather. His mind still can't quite grasp that important detail. One thing is sure, though. Felicity or Megan, it didn't matter. He misses her so much, just the same.

Of course, his parents and Thea are beginning to worry about him. Diggle and Lyla, too. They don't want him regressing back to the Oliver that had bitterly left with a broken heart and returned with PTSD from a war-torn country. Sara calls him every night from L.A. He knows she's only trying to make sure he's doing okay, and he appreciates it very much. His family and friends are trying everything to make him feel better every day, but they know they're not who he needs. He needs _her_. No one can bring Felicity back except her herself. They miss her, too. They don't know how else to help him to grieve this kind of loss and they feel just as helpless as he does.

Even sailing can't get his mind off the sadness he feels. He is tempted to quit his favorite hobby altogether because going out on the lake alone just reminds him of the times when he had leisurely gone sailing with Felicity. She'd been a little nervous at first, afraid that the seasickness she'd struggled with as a child might come back, but he had easily won her over. He loved watching her sitting across him, smiling with her eyes closed as she basked in the fresh, cool breeze. Her golden blonde hair glistened in the sun as the wind gently blew some strands across her lovely face. He committed the image to memory, and each time it comes to mind, his heart breaks. For the first time in his life, sailing brings him no comfort. _She_ is what his heart yearns for, for her to find peace.

He wonders if Felicity misses him too. He hasn't called her, even though he did tell her that he'd try. He knows that hearing her voice will only make him miss her even more. Hearing her laughter will only make him resent the fact that she's gone – gone back to the life she lived before destiny cracked the cruel joke of making their paths cross only for them to part eventually. He imagines her sitting behind her desk in the high-rise building that is Smoak Technologies. He imagines her working on a prototype of the microchip that she and Ray Palmer are collaborating on for spinal implants to help injured and paralyzed patients walk again. He imagines her having coffee breaks with her boyfriend instead of him. He imagines her in Palmer's arms as she regains one memory at a time, and he can only hold out hope that among those memories are the ones she had spent in Ivy Town… with him.

It hurts. Everything hurts.

* * *

Oliver has just finished covering his boat and securing it to the dock. The forecast in the morning did say that there was ninety percent chance of rainfall in the late afternoon, so he had taken leave from the clinic early to come home and do the necessary chore. He may not feel like sailing _Speedy_ lately, but he still loves his boat, and he will make sure she's safe and well taken care of. Now that it's done, he thinks a nice, hot cup of coffee can ward off the gloom he's feeling and keep him company until his family tries again – like they've done in vain in the last few days – to persuade him to join them for dinner.

"You really love her, don't you?"

A familiar voice resonates behind him, cleverly referring to his beloved boat. It's soft, yet it sounds so clear and crisp and unmistakably hers. Oliver can't believe she is actually there. He's afraid to turn around and see nothing but a figment of his imagination, afraid to find the face of disappointment staring back at him, so it takes him a moment before he moves. When he finally turns, she's there.

"You're here…" It's barely a whisper, but she hears him say it with an astonished sigh.

"Oliver, hi," she says, and she smiles.

"Hi," he softly greets back. The look on his face tells her that he's still having trouble deciding whether or not she's just a dream.

They gaze at each other in silence for a while, each one giving the other the chance to speak first. The only things moving in the stillness are the rippling waters below and the sun above setting behind the mountains beyond the lake.

Oliver waits. He is relieved when Felicity finally speaks first.

"I keep waiting for you to call. I thought, maybe you got yourself into trouble – of the hitting-your-head-and-forgetting-about-me kind." She chuckles a bit before she goes on to say, "So, I decided I might as well come and check on you, just to be sure." She catches her lower lip between her teeth, uncertain of how he'd respond.

"I said I'd try."

"You did."

"But, I couldn't."

"I'd really like to know why."

"Felicity…"

He doesn't know what to say, how to tell her how much he's missed her. He wants to tell her that he loves her, but he hesitates, because he thinks she'll think he's crazy. They've known each other for just a month. And she's with someone else now (or, has been for who knows how long). It isn't right to burden her with his feelings, to let her know that he pines for her every minute of every day. She does not deserve to get hurt. But it's as if Felicity can read his mind or feel his heart, for when she speaks again, she does so with so much conviction that she catches him by surprise.

"Ray and I aren't… We're not together… not anymore."

Oliver gasps for air and it feels like he's taken in too much that his lungs are drowning in it. He forgets to breathe. He shakes his head mildly in disbelief, his frown an obvious sign that he needs some form of explanation from her.

"It turns out that he and I have had our differences… even before the accident," Felicity explains. "The day I drove off on my own… It was because he and I disagreed very strongly about something that concerns the company. We fought, and I broke up with him. I guess things haven't changed even after I returned to Star City. He and I… We can no longer see eye to eye."

Oliver gropes for the right words to say, to respond to this stunning revelation. At first, he comes up with nothing, but when he does, he is barely able to articulate the words. "So, you… broke up with him again?"

"No," Felicity replies. "I _remembered_ that I already broke up with him. And then I told him yesterday that I remembered breaking up with him before the accident, and that I'm not going to change my mind… that things are never going to work out between us."

Oliver simply nods, as understanding dawns on him. "Does this mean… you got your memories back?" he asks, a fond smile beginning to blossom on his face.

She nods this time, smiling sweetly at him.

She truly is breathtakingly beautiful, he thinks. At that, his smile widens almost to a grin that she's familiar with and captivated by. "I'm so happy for you," he says. Oliver realizes that deep inside in heart, in spite of his fears of losing her and his jealousy directed at Palmer, he has always secretly yet earnestly desired for her to regain her memories and get her life back. He does care about her deeply.

"But you know what?" she says further, as she takes one steady step after another and approaches him. "I also realized that remembering my past doesn't really make a difference about something that I'm so very sure of in the present," she tells him slowly, emphasizing the last few words so that he has her undivided attention.

His smile fades and momentarily gives way to a slight frown of confusion. "And what is that?"

Felicity stops right in front of him and reaches up to cup his stubbly cheek with her hand. "It's the way that I feel about you."

Oliver sighs and smiles, leaning into her touch as he closes his eyes to savor her words one more time. He reaches up to wrap his hand around her wrist, the one of her hand that's cradling his face. He needs to touch her to ground himself, to remind him that this wasn't a dream or trance, that she was real, and that she was opening up her heart and letting him know right then and there that she, after all, really does have genuine and profound feelings for him.

He understands what she's trying to say, if the way her beautiful blue eyes beam at him brightly are any indication; nevertheless, he opens his eyes and asks, for good measure, "And how do you feel about me?" He just needs her to say it out loud.

She looks straight into his eyes and replies, "I love you."

Oliver doesn't spare a second to speech. In one swift yet gentle movement, he closes the gap between them, wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in towards him, and then he gives her a firm yet chaste kiss. He pulls back just enough for her to see him gaze at her when he tells her with his eyes that he loves her too. And then he's kissing her again, this time more ardently than before, loving the way she slides her hands up his neck and rakes her fingers through his hair. He grips her hips possessively to lock her into his embrace, and then he caresses her back with smooth, slow circles, letting her know with his touch and with his lips how much he's missed her and longed for her while she was away. She reciprocates with as much fervor, and then both hum in satisfaction as they finally break apart for air.

"I guess that means you feel the same way about me?" Felicity asks, blushing as she does so. Her arms are still around his neck, and it seems like she does not want to let go just yet.

"I love you," Oliver answers with a grin on his face. He shrugs and adds with a twinkle in his eye, "I just needed you to say it first."

* * *

The rest of the evening is filled with stories exchanged over dinner. Thea can't help but share with Felicity how broody her brother had been in her absence, about how family and close friends have been brainstorming ways to cheer him up, and about how the entire town misses her. Dr. Queen asks how she's feeling physically. Felicity assures him that she's doing fine and tells him that her doctor in Star City assures her that she is going to make a full recovery.

Moira convinces Felicity to stay the night at the guest house. The rain did fall as she and Oliver headed back into the house, and nobody wants her driving back to Star City at night under the heavy downpour. Moira also tells her that she is more than welcome to stay with them for as long as she wants. Felicity thanks the family, but she tells them that she is going to be taking some time off to visit her mother in Vegas, who has absolutely no idea of what has been happening to her. She thinks it's about time she reconnects with her mother despite their differences in the past couple of years since he and Ray got together because Donna hadn't been exactly supportive about both her business partnership and romantic relationship with Ray Palmer. Her mother, being a better judge of character than Felicity apparently, had sensed that something was off about Palmer from the very beginning and had warned her about it, but she had refused to listen.

That brings their conversation to the difficult subject of how she had lost and regained her memory. Felicity recounts what happened that fateful day.

Ray had tried to convince her to sign off on a government contract that would give the military exclusive rights to the technology they were developing for spinal implants for handicapped soldiers, but she adamantly refused because her goal was to help as many patients as possible, not just handicapped but specially skilled servicemen who needed to be put back in the field. Ray had kept pushing her to sign, but when she found out that he had made a deal with a certain General Fyers behind her back, she had seen red. She walked out on their private meeting at Palmer Tech and drove off, not knowing exactly where she was going. She had been livid and needed to blow off steam. She had left the city and drove for hours, crying and all upset upon realizing that Ray had only been using her and her genius all that time for selfish reasons. She was on the road towards Ivy Town when a deer suddenly jumped out of nowhere and crossed her path. Because she hadn't been in the right frame of mind to be driving at all, it was easy for her to lose control of her car, swerve away from the road and down into the ravine, and crash into a huge pine tree. The next thing she knew, she had woken up bleeding in her car, incoherent and in shock. Sheriff Lance had found her on the road and brought her to the clinic, and it was only then that she remembered feeling pain. She had only realized that she could not remember anything prior to being found after waking up from sedation.

"When did your memory come back?" Thea asks.

"When Ray asked me to sign the same papers again the other day," Felicity replies. "I looked at the papers he placed on my desk and something clicked. It was as if I had felt the same frustration and anger before, and that's when I remembered that I had. Scenes of our heated argument weeks ago began flashing in my mind. It was then that I put down my pen and told Ray that I cannot sign the papers. I left the office, not caring that he was fuming mad at me for leaving him hanging. Memories of the past came back little by little since then, some from my childhood, some from my time in MIT, some from more recent times." She looks at Oliver, who is seated beside him on the table, when she adds, "And definitely some from my stay here in Ivy Town."

She smiles at them and then back at him, and then she says further, "I think that it wasn't just the anger I felt when I read the contract that caused me to remember. It was a host of other emotions, too. I felt pressured coming back to work. I felt anxious surrounded by people that were more like strangers than colleagues and friends. I've missed you guys so much this past week…" Her voice trails off as she looks down, her cheeks flushing red.

"And you've missed Ollie the most!" Thea cries out, teasing.

"Thea!" Oliver glares his sister and gets ready to scold her, but Felicity cuts him off.

"I have," she says, smiling shyly at him. "In fact, I've been meaning to ask you if you wanted to come with me to Vegas… meet my mother. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to meet you," she tells him, the shyness now gone. She's looking at him with such an adorable expression, expectant and excited. How could he decline?

"Sure," Oliver says, taking her hand in his and squeezing it to assure her that he's more than happy to oblige. "I'd love to come with you."

* * *

Felicity stays with the Queens for two days before she and Oliver leave for Star City. From there they fly to Vegas and visit Donna Smoak, who falls in love with Oliver instantly. The day after they arrive, Felicity finds the courage to narrate to her mother everything that has transpired in the last month. Donna is upset at first that Palmer hadn't gotten in touch with her when Felicity disappeared and swears on Felicity's bubba's grave that she was going to give her ex a piece of her mind, but she calms down quite easily when Felicity reaches the point in her story when she and Oliver meet and fall in love eventually. That is enough to put Donna's nerves at ease.

At one point during their two-week visit, Felicity surprisingly asks her mother for permission to have her name legally changed to Felicity Megan Smoak. Even Oliver does not expect it, but when she tells them that she the name has grown on her since her time in Ivy Town, he is not the least bit surprised by it. She's grateful to have all her memories as Megan back, but she has also learned to cherish the new memories she's gained as Felicity. Donna lets her do it, and six months after her return to Star City, the judge grants her request.

For a year and a half, Felicity and Oliver nurture a slightly long-distance relationship, exchanging messages, phone calls, and video chats daily and taking turns to visit each other at least once a week, whoever has a more flexible schedule. Felicity masters the winding road to Ivy Town in the process until she is confident enough to brag that she can drive up to the Queen residence with her eyes closed, idiomatically, of course. Felicity completes the design for the microchip for the spinal implant and has it patented exclusively for Smoak Technologies while finishing all the arrangements for her to be able to run her company remotely from Ivy Town, and Oliver completes his project of remodeling and extending the guest house by the lake as his engagement present for her.

The day he offers her the key to their door, it is hitched to the ring he uses to propose. She says yes.

* * *

_A/N: This is it! Thank you for following this fic and reading through to the end. I hope I have made it worth your while. If so, I'd really like to hear from you._


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